Posted on 10/24/2003 8:17:06 PM PDT by Coleus
How true.
"It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now."
- John F. Kennedy Speech to Economic Club of New York, December 14, 1962.
The Truth ALWAYS matters.
He probably first heard it at Choate. It was a favorite expression of the headmaster at the time he attended.
JFK likely knew the source of his quote or paraphrase. He may have assumed that the audience would also know the source of the quote or paraphrase, and apparently some do. Quoting is allowed in speeches as well as writing; whether the source is well-known enough to not be specifically mentioned is a judgement call. Cribbing more than a line crosses over into plagiarism.
In Fairbanks he is known for the commemoration of the completion of the Federal Railroad to Fairbanks. The railcar he rode in is still here and is an exhibit at the historical park. Nobody knows much about Teapot Dome except those who still aren't talking.
Kennedy's speechwriter(s) (Schlesinger? Ted White?) were fans of what I think were called contrapuntal phrases or something like that. They aren't anything new. Things like "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.." etc. I have a copy of his first Inauguaral address (on parchment, no less) along with the AP's big "red book" printed right after the asassination. The first address is full of them.
Yes. It is a great technique for speechmaking. I don't like it myself, too mechanical, but it is also a technique for generating some fresh ideas even if they don't always make a lot of sense.
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